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Portland has many nicknames, but perhaps the most enduring is Bridgetown — a nod to our iconic bridges and the culture of acceptance that fuels our creativity. Portland’s famed bridges represent our progress and expose our challenges. From a past tarnished with racial inequality to a present that seeks to transcend that story. Year 8 is dedicated to building the future of Portland as an equitable, hopeful, and prosperous city for all. We will explore the duality with each speaker and their idea.

Do you need help with your Agile adoption? Or, would you like to give advice to others on what worked or did not work as you were doing an adoption in your own company? If so, then than I am excited to invite you to attend the Agile Coaching Network. It’s an online community and a bi-weekly webcast that allows you to learn and share with other Agile practitioners.
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Ray Arell will be the moderator of the bi-weekly event. The agenda and format are very simple, we are using a park bench chat style where everybody can participate. The goal is to get and provide help with adoption of Agile and other related topics. If no topic is introduced, then as the moderator I may propose a topic to get the group talking.

The ground rules are simple:
· Keep it conversational. Jump in if you have something new to say.
· One person talks at a time.
· No shameless promotion.
· Generate light not heat. Our goal is to support people.
· Lastly, we will be recording the call for podcast. Remember you manners

This course will examine the concepts, techniques and tools for managing risk and making decision as key components of the systems engineering process. Differences between mission critical and non-mission critical programmatic risk will be emphasized. Other topics include the limits of expected value-based risk analysis, decision making strategies such a max/min, min/max and regrets. Formal methods in risk analysis, elementary decision analysis and decision trees, multi-objective decision making, Pareto techniques, optimality, and trade-off analysis will be covered. Risk and decision techniques will be contrasted with the interfacing processes of program management and software engineering, from both the government (DOD) and industrial perspectives. Case studies will be used throughout the course to demonstrate actual implementation of concept and techniques.

Portland will be hosting the international FOSS4G (Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial) conference in September, 2014. This meeting is to come help plan the conference. All who might be interested are welcome.

At PIE, we like startups. It’s why we started this whole experiment in the first place. So, whenever we have the chance, we opt for using startup products as part of our process. Whether they are PIE companies or not.

We just like supporting startups.

Most of the time, taking these calculated risks is positive all around, for both PIE and the startup. But every once in a while we encounter some issues.

Unfortunately, we are experiencing an issue on the application platform we tried out for this class. A handful of folks have reached out to us, seeking confirmation that their application went through, as they did not receive the confirmation email. When we went searching, those folks didn’t turn up in the database.

Cue cold sweat.

We’re still working to diagnose the problem. And applications have officially closed. But given the issues, we are now put in the uncomfortable position of having to ask these already overtaxed entrepreneurs to resubmit their applications.

PIE, an early stage startup accelerator, is accepting applications for its fourth class. They are due by 11:59PM PT on April 30, 2014.

PIE has been helping early stage startups in Portland for five years. Alums include Urban Airship, Simple, Athletepath, Cloudability, Little Bird, Lytics, Stand In, Switchboard, and Orchestrate, among many others. We tend to work best with platforms and enabling technologies, but we encourage all types of tech startups to apply.

Only 20% of marketers believe their company website is reaching its full potential. Change the equation with conversion optimization--a scientific process that you can use to turn customer data into actionable insights and convert more online visitors into buyers. In this 45-minute webinar, you'll learn the step-by-step process today’s most profitable companies use to optimize their websites for incredible marketing ROI. Finally you'll discover how to best leverage an optimizatio

Course Description

Learn the language and processes of project management and how to use them to effectively communicate with your team to complete projects on time, in budget and with less stress!

Project management is an essential skill utilized within many levels of organizations today. More and more individuals are being tasked to assist with project management. However transitioning into the role of project manager without acquiring the necessary skills and training can be overwhelming!

This course focuses on providing students with the essential knowledge needed to plan and manage projects effectively, and provides a thorough understanding of project management terminology and fundamental concepts. Students will learn industry Best Practices for incorporating proven-effective, project management processes into their organization.

Course Instructors & Accreditation

Advisicon is a Project Management Institute (PMI) Registered Education Provider (REP) and an accredited Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. This course will be taught by an experienced Advisicon instructor, all of whom are industry experts in the field of project management.

Registration

Applications due for FounderDating's Portland chapter. This is the second round of applications, so if you were rejected last time, feel free to re-apply.

FounderDating (FD) is an invite-only, online network for entrepreneurs to connect with cofounders. What makes them different?

High Quality - members are carefully screened for quality and readiness (no recruiters, etc.) Applications and members’ identities are confidential, but a few of the folks who are part of the network are former founders or early employees from: stackmob, snapfish, Zynga, Loggly and Gilt just to name a few.

Balanced - 50% engineering & 50% non-engineering

Reach-- FD’s online network allows you to connect with people in your city and beyond to share ideas and begin building something you’re passionate about.

No Idea Necessary - FD is about the people, so you don’t need to have an idea, just be ready to work on a serious side project

According to Business Incubation Works, "Business incubators reduce the risk of small business failures. Historically, NBIA* member incubators have reported that 87 percent of all firms that have graduated from their incubators are still in business."
In this webinar series, OEN will explore the ups and downs of starting a company in an incubator.

What really happens within start up incubators? Do they help companies become successful or at least get over certain challenges? What type of companies and people find the incubator experience to be a positive? Are there downfalls to going through the experience?
These are just a few of the questions you can ask Daniel Clancey who grew his successful company in an incubator.

Want to submit your questions ahead of time? Email them to Larry Williams at [email protected] for the next session.

The world of benefits is changing. This webinar will provide entrepreneurs with an overview of the basics of implementing a group benefit program, the many different plan options available and the benefits to offering a group program. You will gain a better understanding of the basic benefit concepts and explanation of terminology, state and federal laws and programs available. We will share helpful hints on low or no cost solutions, plan comparison examples and ideas on how to be a better consumer in the health care arena. We will end on the most up to date information on health care reform legislation and information on industry trends.

Speaker:

Tracy Vicario has over 20 years of experience in operations management, human resources and employee benefits. After a move from California in 2010, she joined Coordinated Resources Group as a Benefit Consultant and is Operations Manager of the agency. She has a degree in Business Administration and a Certification in Human Resource Management from California State University with licenses in California, Oregon, Washington and Mississippi. Tracy is a member of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU) and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and a Notary Public. Her integrity and expertise in customer service has earned her many accolades and referrals from clients and colleagues.

When not working, you will find Tracy actively volunteering in the community. She is on the board of the Portland Pearl Rotary where she received the Transformer Award for energy, dedication and integrity. She is a mentor for two Salvation Army White Shield teens and an active member of the Pearl District Business and Neighborhood Associations. She volunteers on the Membership Committee of OEN and helps entrepreneurs with human resources and employee benefits. You can also find Tracy running the Portland trails and local races in the community.

According to Business Incubation Works, “Business incubators reduce the risk of small business failures. Historically, NBIA* member incubators have reported that 87 percent of all firms that have graduated from their incubators are still in business.” In this webinar series, OEN will explore the ups and downs of entrepreneurs starting a company in an incubator.

What really happens within start up incubators? Do they help companies become successful or at least get over certain challenges? What type of companies and people find the incubator experience to be a positive? Are there downfalls to going through the experience? These are just a few of the questions you can ask David Embree who has started his successful company in an incubator.

Want to submit your questions ahead of time? Email them to Larry Williams at [email protected] for the next session.

According to Business Incubation Works, “Business incubators reduce the risk of small business failures. Historically, NBIA* member incubators have reported that 87 percent of all firms that have graduated from their incubators are still in business.” In this webinar series, OEN will explore the ups and downs of starting a company in an incubator.

What really happens within start up incubators? Do they help companies become successful or at least get over certain challenges? What type of companies and people find the incubator experience to be a positive? Are there downfalls to going through the experience? These are just a few of the questions you can ask Josh Blank and Tom Turnbull who has started their successful company in an incubator.

Want to submit your questions ahead of time? Email them to Larry Williams at [email protected] for the next session.

Savvy business owners and leaders agree – the most valuable asset in any company is its employees. So are your current hiring practices set up to support your most valuable asset? While there is no exact science for guaranteeing the perfect hire, you can improve your chances of hiring right the first time through a well planned and executed process.

•Understand the legal considerations pertaining to the hiring of independent contractors and employees

As you grow your business, it is important that you have access to current employer compliance requirements. Knowing when and how to comply with employment laws will help protect your company from unnecessary risk and in turn affect employee morale. By communicating policies & expectations clearly, applying consistent treatment, and dealing with issues head-on with confidence, you are able to garner the respect of your work group and ultimately enhance the performance of your company.

•Determine the compliance requirements that are applicable to your business

WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?
Picture this: standing up on stage: you, next to a projector screen filled with your slides.

Sitting in the audience: a room full potential investors and influencers who can either help you or dismiss you.

It's showtime. What, exactly, do you say? How, precisely, do you talk to an investor? And can you avoid the oh-so-common mistakes made by dozens of entrepreneurs who've pitched and failed?

If you're someone who's ready to ask for money - or even just someone who wants to get better at presenting - you don't even need to leave your desk. Just grab a cup of coffee and click on the URL that will be sent to you via email after you register for OEN's Webinar: How to talk to investors. Think of it as getting some practical presentation tips while wearing your bunny slippers.

You'll be able to watch presentation coach Dave Yewman demonstrate how to effectively communicate your message, how to get right to the point, and how to avoid common mistakes. You'll also be able to submit questions online.

The economy seems to be slowly recovering, and venture capitalists are slowly returning to fund new deals again. But what are they finding most interesting now? And what are the risks they are willing to take, versus those they aren't, in the aftermath of the recession and ten years of negative industry returns?

Gerry will take his historic "Four risks of venture capital startups" and bring it into focus for the coming years…

Prior to joining OVP, Gerry was co-founder of Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ: MENT) in Portland, OR in 1981. There he served as President, and over eleven years helped lead Mentor through its IPO to over $400M in worldwide sales and over $1B in market capitalization. He began his technology career at Tektronix.

Gerry received his AB in Chemistry from Cornell University and his MBA from Harvard University. He is the author of The Vision Trap (Harvard Business Review, 3/92). He also authored a chapter in Venture Capital Best Practices (Aspatore Books, 2005). Gerry serves on the Advisory Board of Highway 12 Ventures in Boise, Idaho.

He is the father of two boys, and enjoys skiing (when his knees can stand it) and golf.

This webinar will give you an overview of HALO IT and over 3,000 courses covering the most popular technology brands such as Microsoft, Cisco, Novell, CompTIA, VMWare, Oracle, and Linux. The HALO IT program gives its users the invaluable aptitude to continue building their knowledge base, and help prepare each initiative-taking member for over 60 IT certifications.

Content covers several major areas of IT and professional development including:

Network & Operating Systems

Programming & Web Development

Design & Media

IT Security

Communication Technologies

Leadership

Problem Solving

Work-Life Balance

Customer Service

In addition to the thousands of online courses that are offered, there are also instructional videos and labs. The labs offer production-level practice equipment providing the user with a scalable, hands-on system with access to live networking hardware and software dedicated exclusively to IT skills enhancement. Unlike simulations, lab users command live equipment over the web as they solve real-world internetworking problems based on their skill level.

This webinar will give you an overview of HALO IT and over 3,000 courses covering the most popular technology brands such as Microsoft, Cisco, Novell, CompTIA, VMWare, Oracle, and Linux. The HALO IT program gives its users the invaluable aptitude to continue building their knowledge base, and help prepare each initiative-taking member for over 60 IT certifications.

Content covers several major areas of IT and professional development including:

Network & Operating Systems

Programming & Web Development

Design & Media

IT Security

Communication Technologies

Leadership

Problem Solving

Work-Life Balance

Customer Service

In addition to the thousands of online courses that are offered, there are also instructional videos and labs. The labs offer production-level practice equipment providing the user with a scalable, hands-on system with access to live networking hardware and software dedicated exclusively to IT skills enhancement. Unlike simulations, lab users command live equipment over the web as they solve real-world internetworking problems based on their skill level.

You will learn about the myriad of knowledge areas that HALO DESK covers, including: Microsoft Office & Adobe software products, business, strategy, communication, customer service, finance, leadership, project management, teamwork, time management, as well as several personal development areas.

HALO DESK boasts comprehensive set of resources for business professionals to expand knowledge, skills and productivity with Microsoft and Adobe software; communications, customer service, financial, project management, leadership, team work, time management and other personal development courses.

This webinar will give you an inside view of what HALO has to offer. From Books, book summaries, instructional videos, collaboration tools to practice exams, HALO DESK has it all. Course topics include:

This webinar will give you an overview of HALO IT and over 3,000 courses covering the most popular technology brands such as Microsoft, Cisco, Novell, CompTIA, VMWare, Oracle, and Linux. The HALO IT program gives its users the invaluable aptitude to continue building their knowledge base, and help prepare each initiative-taking member for over 60 IT certifications.

Content covers several major areas of IT and professional development including:

Network & Operating Systems

Programming & Web Development

Design & Media

IT Security

Communication Technologies

Leadership

Problem Solving

Work-Life Balance

Customer Service

In addition to the thousands of online courses that are offered, there are also instructional videos and labs. The labs offer production-level practice equipment providing the user with a scalable, hands-on system with access to live networking hardware and software dedicated exclusively to IT skills enhancement. Unlike simulations, lab users command live equipment over the web as they solve real-world internetworking problems based on their skill level.

You will learn about the myriad of knowledge areas that HALO DESK covers, including: Microsoft Office & Adobe software products, business, strategy, communication, customer service, finance, leadership, project management, teamwork, time management, as well as several personal development areas.

HALO DESK boasts comprehensive set of resources for business professionals to expand knowledge, skills and productivity with Microsoft and Adobe software; communications, customer service, financial, project management, leadership, team work, time management and other personal development courses.

This webinar will give you an inside view of what HALO has to offer. From Books, book summaries, instructional videos, collaboration tools to practice exams, HALO DESK has it all. Course topics include:

This webinar led by Leslie Bottomly, partner at Ater Wynne LLP, will cover employment law basics for start-ups. Topics include: hiring, firing, discrimination, wage and hour compliance, and development of policies and procedures.

Speaker: Leslie Bottomly, Partner, Ater Wynne LLP
Leslie Bottomly’s practice focuses on employment matters. She regularly advises public and private employers on such matters as employee discipline and termination, compliance with family and medical leave, discrimination, wage and hour, and other employment laws, development of employee handbooks, drug testing programs and international issues. Serving as Ater Wynne LLP's Director of Human Resources gives Leslie unique insight into the practical challenges employers face day to day.

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Today, big businesses are all chasing "user generated content" and "social media" strategies. But how does that apply to startups? How do you participate with limited resources? Where should you be? What should you do? Go everywhere or focus? Get everyone involved or just a spokesperson?

There are a ton of questions. And the answers only come with experience. The good news? Gaining that experience is easier than you might think.

Join Rick Turoczy as he shares some quick tips on how to start participating in social media, getting your bearings, and understanding how you can become a valued member of communities that match your startup's goals.

Angel Investors review hundreds of business plans each year. Learn how to make your presentation stand out and be one that will inspire them to begin due diligence!

Led by Dennis Powers, Managing Partner of Cornerstone Management Resources, "Raising Money from Angel Investors" will illustrate how angel investing works, what should be included in an executive summary, and how an entrepreneur should prepare for a meeting with an angel investor

Speaker: Dennis Powers, Founder and President of Cornerstone Management
Currently the Managing Partner of Cornerstone Management Resources. CMR is a successful consulting firm focusing on all aspects of business development and revenue acceleration for emerging and mid-market companies. He has successfully completed numerous projects involving strategic planning, business plan creation, sales channel development, marketing communication programs, merger/acquisitions and assistance in raising early stage funding. Mr. Powers is also an Executive in Residence at the Open Technology Business Center, a leading incubator in Oregon, Chair of the Portland Angel Network, and an active angel investor.

With more than 35 years experience in sales, marketing, general management and business development, Mr. Powers is well equipped to provide a wide range of assistance to early stage and mid-market companies.

Create online presence and support for technical products using video for web as a primary vehicle. This webinar will present ideas for creating, promoting and optimizing online videos for training, sales, and technical support of products. Video for the web fits especially well with products that require set up, calibration and regular maintenance such as laboratory instruments, equipment, and industrial products with technical applications.

Vinnie Martorano with Sheldon MFG. will be presenting a case study on Sheldon's latest product launch the 3552 CO2 Incubator. Challenged with supporting and educating a worldwide dealer network, Sheldon MFG began using video to train and promote their line of laboratory incubators, ovens, and chambers. Using video Sheldon was able to launch the 3552 into the global marketplace quickly and clearly. Mr. Martorano will elaborate on the chosen content, format and results seen thus far in this latest product release.

Software companies have great incentives to gain a competitive edge by improving their software practices and processes. Improving processes and practices is tricky at best. Experience has shown that the desired benefits of improvement initiatives are not seen or rarely last. Improvement initiatives are regarded by developers and QA as the fad de jour.

It doesn’t need to be that way.

The Ethnographic Futures Research (EFR) methodology eliminates the reasons improvement initiatives fail. It excels at creating a shared vision and forging consensus by using ethnography to set realistic goals and create a strategy to achieve those goals.

Angel Investors review hundreds of business plans each year. Learn how to make your presentation stand out and be one that will inspire them to begin due diligence!

Led by Dennis Powers, Managing Partner of Cornerstone Management Resources, Raising Money from Angel Investors will illustrate how angel investing works, what should be included in an executive summary, and how an entrepreneur should prepare for a meeting with an angel investor.

This webinar is provided courtesy of OEN.

Speaker: Dennis Powers, Founder and President of Cornerstone Management
Currently the Managing Partner of Cornerstone Management Resources. CMR is a successful consulting firm focusing on all aspects of business development and revenue acceleration for emerging and mid-market companies. He has successfully completed numerous projects involving strategic planning, business plan creation, sales channel development, marketing communication programs, merger/acquisitions and assistance in raising early stage funding. Mr. Powers is also an Executive in Residence at the Open Technology Business Center, a leading incubator in Oregon, Chair of the Portland Angel Network, and an active angel investor.

With more than 35 years experience in sales, marketing, general management and business development, Mr. Powers is well equipped to provide a wide range of assistance to early stage and mid-market companies.

This presentation will be a collaboration between Lee Foster and Steven Prewitt at Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt. Steven will present on the legal framework of IP that assists in the creation of economic scarcity. That's what makes an intangible asset valuable! Lee will present on the creative science behind the valuation of various types of intangible assets.

Speaker: Leslie Bottomly, Partner, Ater Wynne LLP
Leslie Bottomly’s practice focuses on employment matters. She regularly advises public and private employers on such matters as employee discipline and termination, compliance with family and medical leave, discrimination, wage and hour, and other employment laws, development of employee handbooks, drug testing programs and international issues. Serving as Ater Wynne LLP's Director of Human Resources gives Leslie unique insight into the practical challenges employers face day to day.

As with most start-ups, there may be a significant period of time before the business becomes profitable. Therefore, when making a list of priorities, start-ups tend to list taxes right above "Get a plant service.” David Uslan, tax shareholder in charge of Perkins and Company's high tech niche, will address why taxes should be moved higher up the list, especially in a down economy.

The business decisions you make today can affect your tax situation in the future, including where you locate your company, what type of entity you choose for your company, or even how you obtain sales. David will provide an overview of how your startup can effectively manage taxes for long-term success.

You have a dream, but need capital to get it off the ground. In this tight funding market do you sit around and wait for that VC or angel ship to come in, or do you decide to lace up your own boots and do everything you can to make it happen now?

In this webinar you will hear from entrepreneurs who made the choice to not wait around for funding, and as a result have turned their ideas into successful companies. They will give insight into the following topics:

* Risk vs Reward - How do you know if it makes sense to bootstrap your idea?
* Keep your Day Job - The stress of self funding with no income can sometimes lead to failure
* Cash Flow - How to get a handle on your most important business aspect
* How to market your business on a shoestring budget

Presenters:
Chanin Ballance, President & CEO, viaLanguage
Ms. Ballance was named Chief Executive Officer of viaLanguage in August 2003. She co-founded viaLanguage in 2000 and served as viaLanguage’s Chief Operating Officer and head of marketing where she raised initial capital, built the channel sales program and formed strategic partnerships. Previous to viaLanguage, Ms. Ballance co-founded The Language Company, a language and cross-cultural training school and translation service, where she was responsible for general management and finance. She sold the school to Berlitz in 1999. She also held positions at Portland General Electric where she was responsible for the forecasting, scheduling, and marketing of power. Ms. Ballance earned a bachelor of science degree in social science from Marylhurst College and a bachelor of science in chemistry from Portland State University. Additionally, she’s completed executive coursework at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business and has studied five foreign languages

Ryan Buchanan, President & CEO, eROI
Ryan Buchanan, founder and CEO of eROI, started the company in November 2002. He has eight years of email marketing, web and e-commerce experience and frequently speaks about email marketing, social networking, and web marketing-related issues. He has also been featured in notable industry publications such as the Wall Street Journal, TheStreet.com, iMedia Connection, DM News, and eMarketer. He has led the growth of eROI from a couple employees at inception to a full team of e-marketing experts, creatives, technical, account, and sales teams. Buchanan has driven 720% growth from 2003 – 2006, earning eROI a spot as an Inc. 500 company. Through his leadership, eROI was the only small, young company to be recognized as one of the Most Admired Companies in Oregon by a Portland Business Journal survey of 2,000 Oregon CEOs in 2007. He served for two years as the President of the Board of the Portland Advertising Federation and also serves on the Boards of Friends of the Children, Software Association of Oregon, Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, Starve Ups and Greenlight Greater Portland. Buchanan was named to the Portland Business Journal’s ’40 Under 40,’ an award that recognizes city leaders under 40 years old. He was also named by Oregon Business Magazine as one of “the 50 Great Leaders for Oregon - 50 who fix it, move it, build it, change it and get it done right.” Buchanan is most proud of the team at eROI and positive culture the company has created, which has resulted in a deeper connection to the community and each other.

The third webinar in this series will emphasize the critical importance of selling value of your software and services solution in today's economy. We no longer believe selling value is optional for the professional software salesperson, rather it is mandatory. In this session you'll learn how to articulate your software/service's value proposition. You'll also learn the skill of presenting your solution as a necessary high ROI investment, that your prospects should prioritize, instead of a high cost expense that gets differed to the next quarter or next year. There is no fee for this webinar.

Start-ups often struggle with understanding how to manage the sales cycle in order to achieve their growth objectives. Yet young companies cannot afford to make mistakes in this area: their very survival depends on it.

This webinar will cover a variety of topics that will help you to gain a clearer perspective and control over your company's sales cycle.

Andrew Rowe has 25+ years of progressive experience in leading growth-oriented businesses in the healthcare, technology and industrial sectors. He is an accomplished builder of high performance teams, providing products and services to Fortune 500/Global 2000 companies. His experience is in building companies from start-up to more than $100 million in annual revenues.

Andrew serves as CEO at AllMed Healthcare Management, a national healthcare service company that works with leading hospital groups and healthcare payer organizations, nationwide. Previously he was Managing Partner at Cube Management, a sales & marketing recruiting and consulting firm. Mr. Rowe served as Executive Vice President of Cascade General, which he and his partner acquired and grew to US market leadership in large-scale ship repair. Prior that, he served at Vice President at Adept Technology, a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of industrial robots, controls and software, which grew to international market leadership. Mr. Rowe's early career was in international sales and marketing management.

[Full details at http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/1899649/ ] When doing business around the world, a poorly translated product at best could make your customers and business partners think you don't value them. At worst, you may be sending the wrong message about your product and not even know it. For example, would you buy a car called "it won't go"? Chevy learned that the hard way when it marketed its "Nova" vehicle in Latin America. When we speak of localization, we refer to it as the process of adapting an internationalized product to a particular culture or locale. Before shipping the localized product to a particular market, it is imperative to make sure it is not beset with inconsistent quality. Planning for a full round of localization testing will give you that peace of mind. In this presentation, we will look at some examples of some major translation mistakes (some funny, some not!). We will also take an introductory approach to the best practices with localization testing. Presenters: Stacey Brown, Director, Managed Services Division, PTI Global Christian Larsen, Localization QA Manager, PTI Global #SAOpdx #QASIG #QA #webinar

With corporate layoffs, lawsuits and losses looming, what's a company to do when a crisis strikes? Recent bad actors like the Peanut Corporation of America, Heartland Payment Systems and Apple’s handling of Steve Jobs’ health crisis did not show best practices for crisis communications. It's a rare company that totally escapes the need to share bad news at least occasionally.

Hear about the Ten Fundamental Principles of Crisis Communications to prepare for releasing bad news before you need to.

Online registration for this event closes on Wednesday, April 1st. Please contact the OEN office at 503-222-2270 if you wish to register after that date.

Speaker: Jody Peake, OnPR

Jody Peake has announced both good and bad news for lots of clients -- from SAP to Victoria's Secret.com. She is the CEO of OnPR, a PR agency that specializes in providing experienced PR services for enterprise, consumer and wireless technology companies. OnPR has offices in Portland, Seattle and Munich. She was previously a founding partner at Waggener Edstrom.

Identify and assess critical experiences/skill sets in candidates that will work for the business today - and scale with the business in the future.

This webinar will be rich with examples of how other successful start-ups made critical hiring decisions.

Online registration for this event closes Monday, March 31st. Please contact the OEN office at 503-222-2270 if you wish to register after that date.

SPEAKER:
Pamela Jones, JONES PARTNERS

Pamela is Managing Partner of JONES PARTNERS - a 23-year old retained executive search firm based in the Pacific Northwest and serving client companies (start-ups, public companies and joint-ventures) throughout the country. She has served as an executive with Claremont Technology, Lattice Semiconductor (both completed IPOs) and worked in the management consulting group of a major international CPA firm. Board roles have included OEF, SAO, AOI and the West Coast Chamber Orchestra. (See bio and www.jonespartners.biz)

In today's economy we all need more prospects and sales opportunities. And because there are fewer available we need to get in and win every one we can. In this session Jim will share what it takes to sell software and services in our current economy. This presentation will not be a list of selling do's and don'ts, rather, you will gain insight into how you can transform yourself, your selling skills and your software/services' value proposition into something that suspects, prospects and customers will respond to. Instead of experiencing rejection in these difficult times your prospects will want to hear from you and learn more about your software/services solutions. What you take away from this webinar will improve your lead-to-close ratio leading to a sales performance improvement in any economy - good or bad. There is no fee for this webinar.

You are cordially invited to participate in an informative webinar on the new Software Association of Oregon Healthcare insurance plans that are available for new enrollment effective March 1, 2009. You can participate in this valuable online presentation thorough the convenience of the internet on either of the following dates and times.

Generation Y is coming. By the end of the decade, 64 million workers will be able to retire. Generation Y, the children of Baby Boomers, will replace them. These people were raised on different values, and will work differently in the workplace. How will your business handle the transition?

By studying the differences in the generations, we can understand how these groups act individually and how they will interact together in a business environment. You will also learn what business leaders need to know to motivate their employees across generations, as well as what the employees expect from a business.

This webinar is presented by Sydney Joyner, President of The Joyner Group LTD. Sydney works with executives on transforming and accelerating leadership capabilities, talent acquisition and management, and employee engagement. She is a frequent lecturer and writer on emergent leadership models, organization change issues, and the development of talent within companies.

Doing anything in a vacuum is not a good idea, so why would you go it alone when starting your business? Creating an effective advisory board can be an inexpensive way to learn from experts who have done it before. You also can gain credibility and you can get connections that can help propel your business forward.

Attend this webinar led by serial entrepreneurs Spencer Brown and Jim Moon and learn what ideas a CEO should consider when forming an advisory board and/or a governing board for their start-up company. They will also discuss the following topics every entrepreneur must consider when forming an advisory board:

Spencer Brown
Spencer Brown is currently consulting for companies preparing for mergers and acquisitions. His prior management experience includes roles as Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer at both private and public companies that include Euro RSCG Portland, 800.com, Now Software, Sundance Electronics, TriQuint Semiconductor, GigaBit Logic, CR Technology, and Compact Video. Spencer combines his operational and management expertise with his substantial finance experience, and has managed several mergers and acquisitions aggregating over $250 million. Spencer is also a retired Certified Public Accountant, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He has been a guest speaker at U.C.L.A.'s Graduate School of Management, Marylhurst University, University of Portland, Portland State University, Concordia University, George Fox University and the University of Oregon Law School of Entrepreneurship.

Jim Moon, MSEE, Chief Executive Officer, Lifecom
Prior to becoming CEO of Lifecom, Mr. Moon was CEO of Serveron Corporation. He was the founder and CEO of Protocol Systems. Under his leadership Protocol Systems pioneered portable patient-monitoring equipment that remains the standard of the industry. Mr. Moon served as chairman of the Oregon Chapter of the American Electronics Association. He held engineering and management positions with SpaceLabs, Intel, and ESL, Inc. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from Santa Clara University.

Mike Riley, with 30 years in the research industry, will walk through the essential elements of conducting accurate and credible market research.

With research budgets tight (or non-existent), Riley will outline the elements necessary for conducting good research on the cheap. He will highlight the best methods for study design, audience selection, and fair reporting of the data, along with a list of "Do's & Don't" for effect research on a shoestring budget.

The Speaker: Mike Riley

This webinar is presented by Mike Riley, President & Research Director, Riley Research Associates. Mike Riley's expertise is in both quantitative and qualitative methods of public and special audience opinion polling. Riley is adept at incorporating both primary and secondary information into the research process and analysis. He is a public relations research practitioner, accredited by the Public Relations Society of America (APR), and has been recognized by the Marketing Research Association with a Professional Researcher Certification (PRC).

Today, big businesses are all chasing "user generated content" and "social media" strategies. But how does that apply to startups? How do you participate with limited resources? Where should you be? What should you do? Go everywhere or focus? Get everyone involved or just a spokesperson?

There are a ton of questions. And the answers only come with experience. The good news? Gaining that experience is easier than you might think.

Join Rick Turoczy as he shares some quick tips on how to start participating in social media, getting your bearings, and understanding how you can become a valued member of communities that match your startup's goals.

Speaker: Rick Turoczy

Rick Turoczy has helped Portland-area startups with traditional and Web-based communications activities for more than a dozen years--from spectacular dotcom IPOs to working with some of the best and brightest Web companies in Portland, today. A blogger for nearly a decade, Rick currently follows the startup tech scene throughout the Silicon Forest on his blog, Silicon Florist, and covers Web 2.0 news for ReadWriteWeb, one of the most popular blogs in the world. He is most easily reached via Twitter as @turoczy

Many industries will be affected by labor shortages ad the ability to fill vacancies. By 2012 our workforce will be reduced by 3.3 million workers. Outsourcing and difficult economic times add an interesting component to attractions, selections and the securing of talent.

What actions can you implement to help your business prosper?

This webinar will help establish a plan to address talent needs:
Out of the box thinking for attracting talent.
Knowing and promoting your competitive advantage.
Use difficult economic times to enhance your human capital.

Do you Twitter? Have you updated your LinkedIn or Facebook profile? If not, you should, as your constituents are highly engaged in the Web 2.0 world via social media Web sites. Today's consumers rely on social media networks to find and develop a sense of identity, as well as research and validate the reputation of other individuals and businesses.

Kent Lewis with Anvil Media will outline the why and how of developing a social media marketing strategy for your organization, including critical success factors, 7 steps to get started and how to measure effectiveness.
Details:
Date and Time: Oct 21, 2008
10:00 am - 11:00 am
Location: Online
For Purchase:
Member Price: $20.00
Non-Member Price: $30.00

Before compromising your business's valuable property--its copyrights, trademarks, patents and trade secrets--discover the lessons others have learned the hard way. In this webinar, Vicki Ballou, Rosemary Colliver, John Vandenberg and Steve Wilker will discuss common IP blunders AND how to avoid them.

This webinar, hosted by Marshall Kirkpatrick, will help you become a power user of RSS feeds for your work in marketing. Advanced methods of reading and publishing feeds can give you important competitive advantages over your competitors, including first-mover's advantage from rapid market intelligence and better relationships with key stakeholders through contemporary subscription options. This will be a fast paced but accessible session that RSS readers new and old will learn a lot from.